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How Does Learning Happen on a Rainy Day?

We love to explore outside in all sorts of weather; today we went for a walk to find puddles to splash in. Water is such a huge interest for the children and they are always deeply engaged in their explorations.

“Engagement” refers to a state of being genuinely involved and interested in what one is doing. Optimal conditions for learning occur when we are fully engaged. For children, this happens in play that evolves from the child’s natural curiosity – active play that allows children to explore with their bodies, minds, and senses, stimulating them to ask questions, test theories, solve problems, engage in creative thinking, and make meaning of the world around them.

- How Does Learning Happen

The children followed water flowing down the hill and wondered why it was moving that way. They put leaves and sticks in the water to watch it flow.

They jumped in the puddles and predicted that if they jumped higher or stomped their feet harder they could make bigger splashes, then they tested their theories. We talked about how far the drops went and talked about the sounds we heared as our feet hit the water.

We noticed our reflection in the water and we made silly faces.

One of our friends noticed a snail shell near the juniper bushes and upon further inspection we saw that there were lots of empty shells there, where had they come from?

We discovered that the shells were lots of different sizes. The children sorted them by size, counted them, added and subtracted; who knew our walk would turn in to a math lesson!

We had to discuss who would get to keep which ones and traded with eachother so we each got to keep our very favorite one. Considering eachother's feelings and working together helps to cultivate a sense of belonging.

Early childhood programs cultivate authentic, caring relationships and connections to create a sense of belonging among and between children, adults, and the world around them.

- How Does Learning Happen

There were steps on our way back and we wondered how they got there.

Did someone paint them? Did someone get paint on their shoes and walk down the sidewalk?

We had to stretch our legs to reach each step, sometimes we jumped! Activities like this help the children to develop a sense of wellbeing in our program.

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